Hi everyone! I had another good week in terms of saving and productivity.

1. Groceries: We spent $27.81 at Kroger this week. Not going to lie; most of it was junk food, minus $7.00 worth of avocados, parmesan cheese and bacon. One of the perks of eating cheap is that one week of junk won’t break the bank. I harvested swiss chard, kale, endive, spinach and parsley from my various gardens. I also noticed a giant pear on our pear tree, but it was at the top of the tree. So I dragged a ladder out of the shop, and picked the pear. It was pretty much a perfect pear. I also picked some stray apples out of the orchard.

2. Made a “free” $8.00 photo book on Shutterfly. They were running a special this week, so the night of the deadline I sat down and put together a baby book for our Princess. Of course you have to pay for shipping, so that's where the $8.00 comes from.

3. Sewing: I put new velcro on a pair of toddler shoes, repaired two pairs of toddler pants and one sweater for myself. I also fixed a basket liner that I made earlier this year.

4. Worked on a weekly schedule: I reinstated Laundry Day (Thursday) and Cleaning Day (Friday) this week. Before the craziness of our house project started, I had a wonderful weekly schedule that kept my house running smoothly. Since May, that schedule gradually deteriorated until I did laundry every other day “when needed” and cleaning almost never. 

I forgot how wonderful line-drying indoors can be. I was able to wash and hang three loads of laundry before noon on Thursday, and had the afternoon to rearrange our living room for the new couches and put together the bar stools that came that day. All of the new furniture is wonderful! 

Friday was likewise awesome, even though it was mostly cleaning. I pulled all of the inspection stickers off of the doors, put little screw plugs in, and generally deep-cleaned the kitchen. Then I vacuumed the whole downstairs so everything was nice and clean for the weekend. It felt SO GOOD.

5. I listed a lot of vintage patterns on Ebay. October and November is the time to do it! My patterns already have a bid, and the auction doesn't end until Sunday.

6. Money books: I read a little pamphlet this week called Myths of the Great Depression that I got at a garage sale for free. You, too, can read the whole thing for free here. I also listened to a fantastic book called Stop Acting Rich by Thomas Stanley, author of the bestseller Millionaire Next Door. This book was a more in-depth look at millionaires and multi-millionaires; even more stories and (sometimes sarcastic) commentary from the author. Oh, man. This book was SO GOOD. I was going to put some thoughts in this blog post, but it ballooned into a rambling book review. So I will probably post that later this week.

7. Reviewed some of our financial statements in preparation for the end of the tax year. I found an issue that might have cost us $1500.00, and also found a significant amount of fees that can be eliminated. Both of those things will need more work before I can claim them as an "accomplishment", but if resolved, in coming years they will pay big (as Trump would say, "YUGE") dividends.

I think that’s about it for now! I hope you all have a great week!!
-Bethany

​Hello everyone! I felt like I had a pretty good week.

1. Groceries: We spent $40.00 at Walmart this week. I bought things like tomato paste, cheese, eggs, dry beans, chicken thighs, tortillas, crackers, milk and tuna fish. I’m working on our meal plan for November, which will feature root vegetables, hardy greens (we’ll see how hardy they really are!), venison and chicken. Also probably some apples and pears. The chicken thighs were marked down $0.66 per bag, so I saved $1.32. Not bad for something that is already so cheap!

I pulled parsnips and potatoes out of the garden this week. I also made cheese from some milk that was about to expire.

2. ​Organizing: I almost finished organizing my library/office area upstairs. I went through all of my old homemaking binders and combined them into one binder. While I was sorting everything, I found some cleaning schedules that I’ll start using soon. I’ll have to do a lot more cleaning since this place is much bigger than the last one. I also made new morning, afternoon and evening schedules (more like "order of events"). I usually have to change those anyway when the weather changes, as we spend more time indoors during the winter months.

3. Toddler outing: on Thursday Hubs’ was out of town, so I decided to take Princess to a local Western store where I had a gift card I could use. I thought I might buy her some animals for her toy collection, but they didn’t have what I was looking for. We spent about 20 minutes looking at all of the merchandise; saddles, boots, hats, etc., and admiring the reindeer and longhorn mounts on the wall. I fished two quarters out of my purse and let her ride the mechanical horse. They also had a mechanical bull, but I was out of quarters. After going through the whole store, I didn’t find anything we needed. I did find some things that would make nice baby gifts, so I will save the gift card and use it for that purpose.

After that, we went to our credit union building, which was having a member appreciation day. I got to catch up with a friend who works there, plus Princess brought home a free pumpkin, lip balm, donut and balloon. The whole cost for our outing was $0.50 plus gas ($1.00 or so), and we came home with some free stuff!

4. Sewing: I finished two hand towels that I began several weeks ago. These are very easy to make with one potholder (needs a loop) and a dish towel. It wasn’t a particularly frugal project since I bought the supplies new at Walmart (about $3.00 per towel). However, I needed new hand towels and similar ones go for $6.00 or more on Amazon. So in that way, I guess it was frugal. I look forward to making more colors that I can switch out for different seasons. In the future I might make my own potholders, since the ones at Walmart are rectangles and I prefer squares with a corner loop—the video doesn't recommend it, but I like the look better—for this project. ​

5. Work on the house: I primed one of the guest bedrooms this week. 

We also bought a dryer used on Facebook Marketplace and moved our old washer over here to the new house. Right now it’s in the basement; not its final resting place, but at least now I don’t have to walk next door to do laundry! The dryer isn’t hooked up yet, so I’m using drying racks instead (so... saving $0.45 per load!). One of the drying racks is an ancient, massive one that my mother-in-law gave me. It’s so sturdy that our toddler can climb on it and it won’t break. Wonderful for drying jeans.

Lastly, we did something that wasn’t frugal: we bought new couches. We had a twice-handed-down couch set at the apartment for five years, so neither of us were sorry to hand over the cash for a new set. Hubs signed up for a credit card (that we won’t use, of course) to save over $100.00. Also, instead of buying bar stools at the store for $60.00 or more per piece, we bought similar ones online for $45.00 each. They haven't arrived yet. We have faith that they will be okay. ;)

We’ve spent a LOT of money on this new house, but I think it’s important to mention that we spent very little on the last house. All of those missed decorating opportunities got rolled into a figurative sinking fund for this place. If you spend a lot of money repainting, redecorating and refurnishing rentals, it's money you will never get back. Before we got married, I read a book that recommended newly married couples establish a decorating budget. I agree... AND, I think that budget should be as close to $0.00 as possible until you have a permanent (or, as permanent as possible) home. Save the money! It's worth it!!! Not only will you be able to purchase higher quality items later, but the $0.00 budget will encourage creativity and contentment for the time being.  

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That's about it! It's so good to feel productive again. We'll be slowly working on more house projects all winter, but the major purchases have been made and now I can begin to think about "fun" things like lamps, rugs, artwork, etc. The kitchen is very close to being "before-and-after" ready. There is one glass cabinet insert that needs to be installed, and we need to buy two glass globes (lamps??) for a light fixture. I expect to be sharing some pictures here in a week or two!!!

Til next time,
-Bethany

It's beginning to look a lot like FALL around here! Leaves are changing and it's beginning to get colder. We had our first hard frost a few nights ago.​

1. Food: We ate greens, longbeans and a few other things from the garden. I also used up some apples and pears in the orchard. I made a good amount of apple chips for this winter. Lastly, I made bread. Here’s a picture of my main grocery haul:

It was $27.87. We also spent $10.00 on winter squash at a local produce stand, and $2.00 at the Dollar General for my favorite fall treat (Little Debbies Pumpkin Delights). I didn’t mention it in the last post, but several weeks ago my brother-in-law shot a deer and let us keep it (he didn’t have time to do the processing). We were able to put about 40 lbs. of meat in the freezer for free!

I’m continuously amazed at how much I can get done (or, have the motivation to do) with the help of the dishwasher, microwave, etc. Even the oven has tools like a timer, that help me accomplish more, faster and easier. I made at least three meals this week that were time-intensive, but with the help of my kitchen tools—new ones, and ones I’ve had for years—I felt like I could tackle them and still have time to do other things during the day. With so many new possibilities, and especially with my new fall and spring gardens, I feel like going back to the $10.00/week plan just for fun.

2. Kids’ stuff: I read a popular parenting book and also a preschool homeschooling book. I wasn’t too excited about the parenting book so I won’t share the title, but I feel like I got a lot out of the other book; Early Years; a Charlotte Mason Preschool Handbook. I found it at a garage sale last month.

For those interested in homeschooling on a budget, I feel like Charlotte Mason is a good option. There is a heavy emphasis on nature and reading, which is pretty much free, as opposed to video or text-based curriculum (used is always cheaper, but many homeschool parents pay hundreds of dollars per child, per year for basic curriculum). Some of the other aspects of CM (fine art, classical music) can get expensive if you chose to take your child to lessons. For the preschool years, they recommend establishing routines, obedience to parents, nature walks, free play, and other easy-to-implement activities. I love that many of those things make my life as a parent easier, too. Even the music and art isn’t too expensive at this point; classical music is free to listen to on Pandora, Youtube, Amazon Music, etc. And I’ve been collecting small art prints (mostly from cheap books and postcards) to display in our daughter’s room or look at with her. 

The other frugal thing I did this week was cover our old world map with contact paper, so I can use it as a kind of floor mat for our toddler. I got it years ago at a garage sale for 10 cents. Since then, the edges have developed tears and spots, so we’ll probably buy a new one for the wall at some point. 

3. Momentos: At 90 years old, my grandpa is finally at the point where he needs round-the-clock care, and went to live in a nursing home. He left a little house full of things that needed to be cleaned out for new tenants. I picked out a few delightful little treasures:

Looking over all of the glassware, trinkets, games, books and pictures, I thought about how many years it took to collect those things. Now, fifty-plus years later, my grandparents’ home is being dissembled and taken away, piece by piece. This eventually happens to every home*. A housewife spends decades getting her house “just right”, painting, organizing, crafting, collecting trinkets, only to have that work undone, eventually. I hope that, as a homemaker, I can spend my time building memories and improving the lives of others, storing up “treasures in heaven” that won’t be taken away piece by piece when I pass on.

Til next time,
-Bethany

*Unless it’s Biltmore. Or some Presidents’ home that has to be reassembled for the sake of museum-loving folks like myself. ;)

Hi everyone. I’m back! I’m really excited about blogging on the regular again. Things in our house still aren’t 100% buttoned up, but I’ve decided to resume a semi-normal schedule anyway. 

1. Cooking: I’ve been cooking a bit more, since my new kitchen is more convenient to use than the last one. I made several meals with side dishes (crazy!) since I’m not neurotic anymore about using (washing) as few dishes as possible. I made spaghetti sauce from scratch with tomatoes that were in the garden. I made popcorn in the air popper; something I haven’t done much, since you have to melt butter in a pan, and who wants to wash yet another pan? Especially one with butter?? I excitedly explained to Hubs how easy it was to just put the butter pan in the dishwasher. And he pointed out that we now have a microwave so I don't even have to melt butter on the stove anymore. Oh.

I also made yogurt, broth, and cookies, and froze some herbs for use this winter. All in the last week! While this wouldn’t have been a big deal in my pre-moving days, it’s a miracle now since we’re still unpacking, working on house projects, and last week we had somewhere to go almost every night. Our toddler had a heyday with all of the open boxes of stuff in every room, scattering the new “toys” here and there, which made non-remarkable accomplishments (like cooking and cleaning) even more difficult on top of an already-busy schedule. But oh! The miracle of dishwashers and an easy-to-use kitchen space.

2. Tucked away the garden for winter. Over the weekend I harvested all of the pre-frost items from my garden; things like peppers, cucumbers, beans, summer squash and tomatoes, as well as some fruit (apples, pears, and a peach) and frost-hardy things like kale, swiss chard and winter squash. I brought in all of the green tomatoes and put them in the basement to ripen. I think they would ripen better in the garage, but there is still too much moving stuff in there.

I’m so happy with how the garden turned out this year, despite my utter lack of care from June until now. Instead of trying to can and freeze a lot of things, I just picked fresh produce as it was ready. We’ve been eating fresh greens since the beginning of May, and will likely have kale, Swiss chard and spinach until at least the end of October, thanks to some plastic and two greenhouse boxes that Hubs made for me last winter. We haven’t bought much produce at all since the beginning of June—just onions, carrots, a bit of celery and bananas now and then. Below you can see a sample of all the wonderful produce we got to partake of this summer:

On top of the produce, I also harvested medicinal and culinary herbs (some of which are pictured at the top of this post). I didn't harvest many flowers this year, but that's just because we were so busy. In October we’ll be having sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, potatoes, kale, Swiss chard, spinach and endive from the garden. I put one of the greenhouse boxes around the herb garden, so that will help extend the life of my fresh herbs. I’m crossing my fingers that there will still be some of those things available in November as well, though obviously as the colder months drag on we’ll have to dig into the freezer stash and then start buying produce. But overall, I think the “minimal canning and freezing, maximal gardening” strategy is one that I want to keep for a long time.

3. Got some stuff at one of the thrice-annual “free garage sale” events in our area. The way it works is that you donate all of your leftover stuff, and then at the event you dig through everyone else’s stuff and hope to come home with something “new”. Kind of like a clothing swap. Of course, you don’t HAVE to donate anything, but it’s a good way to get rid of unused stuff and makes the sale better for others.

Some things I got: clothing for myself and our daughter, shoes for our daughter, several books, a beautiful turkey napkin holder (below) and probably some other things I forgot.

4. The three of us went on a walk together and collected $0.50 or so worth of cans. Princess and I collected about the same amount of cans on a different walk.

That is about all I can think of, for now. Obviously there has been a lot going on around here, so I probably forgot some things. Oh well!

Until next time,
-Bethany